Blinken says U.S. 'stands in solidarity' 35 years after Tiananmen

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the United States stood in solidarity with Chinese democracy advocates and vowed never to forget the crackdown in Tiananmen Square 35 years ago.

"As Beijing attempts to suppress the memory of June 4, the United States stands in solidarity with those who continue the struggle for human rights and individual freedom," Blinken said in a statement.

"The courage and sacrifice of the people who stood up in Tiananmen Square thirty-five years ago will not be forgotten," he said.

Blinken, who has visited China twice since last year in hopes of stabilizing relations, did not hold back from describing the June 4, 1989 crackdown as a "massacre."

Blinken said that the United States backed the calls of Tiananmen protesters for China to recognize human rights as enshrined by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"We will continue to speak out and work with the international community to promote accountability for PRC human rights abuses both within and outside its borders," he said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Tanks rolled into the vast central Beijing square on June 4, 1989, clearing out students who had been clamoring for democratic reforms.

The exact toll is unknown but hundreds died, with some estimates going above 1,000. China's communist rulers have since sought to erase any public mention of the crackdown.